Chapter 56: Star, The Dream (6)

Chapter 56: Star, The Dream (6)

In truth, it was no exaggeration to say Chang-Sun had been lucky to have hunted the guards so easily; just creating the Jigwi’s Eon Fire had been enough to destroy half the research facility. Things had been practically bound to turn out that way, however; even one stray spark could cause a catastrophe to strike an ordinary oil-refining facility, so how could the research lab remain intact even after multiple explosions?

However, Chang-Sun assumed he could not count on being lucky again, as Lab Director Sang-Won had detected him. Unless he was a fool, the director would never let Chang-Sun use his Concealment Skill again. And yet, what surprised Chang-Sun the most was that Sang-Won, the lab director, was a Ghost Soldier.

‘Is the White Tiger Clan not stopping at making disposable people into Ghost Soldiers?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

That meant the ‘Ghost Soldiers’ were not necessarily disposable. In hindsight, it would have been a natural conclusion if Chang-Sun had thought about it some more. Creating [Dream Spheres] required a substantial amount of time and money, and judging from the many research wings and pieces of equipment Chang-Sun had seen, creating Ghost Soldiers needed more than just [Dream Spheres].

‘Of course, they’re all destroyed now,’ Chang-Sun thought with a faint grin.

It was likely that most of the White Tiger Clan’s executive members had gone through the Ghost Soldier transformation.

‘This is actually for the best,’ Chang-Sun thought, changing his plans.

At first, he had intended to retreat after wreaking moderate havoc and finding out Executive Director Oh’s weakness, but seeing as he had figured out that the White Tiger Clan’s higher-ups were Ghost Soldiers, he felt that fighting Lab Director Sang-Won would give him good experience.

‘This might be a chance to test what a Ghost Soldier is capable of,’ Chang-Sun concluded.

[Your Integrated Magic Circuit has activated, circulating fiercely.]

[The Jigwi’s Eon Fire is flaring up!]

As the fire around his body grew larger, Chang-Sun gripped [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] more tightly.

[Distributed 30 additional stats to Strength. 111→141]

[Strength: 141 (+55)]

Squeak―!

Like a spinning sawblade, Lab Director Sang-Won’s sword had been bearing down on Chang-Sun’s head, but he was slowly pushed back.

Boom!

Chang-Sun suddenly pushed back with tremendous power, leaving the director shocked for the first time.

[Distributed 30 additional stats to Agility. 101→131]

[Agility: 131 (+45)]

Using all of his Eon Fire to make his wings larger, Chang-Sun flew at Lab Director Sang-Won. As he had become faster and stronger, so too did his attacks with [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] grow more powerful.

Screech!

Boom, boom, boom―!

Although Lab Director Sang-Won staggered backward, he managed to regain his balance and deflect Chang-Sun’s attacks one by one. Each time their weapons clashed, a metallic screech filled the air and several explosions large and small occurred. A hideous scowl spread across the director’s face, his pride hurt by the fact that he was exchanging attacks with a trainee.

However, his eyes remained full of greed to possess Chang-Sun. If Chang-Sun could grow that quickly, the director could not even imagine how strong he would be as a Gildal.

“I definitely have to have you,” Lab Director Sang-Won said with a grin.

Boom, boom, boom!

The director swung his sword more quickly.

[Your opponent’s sword now contains a large quantity of ghost energy!]

[The aura of ‘Tiger Kill’ intensifies.]

[Caution!]

Swish, swoosh, swish―!

Whenever Lab Director Sang-Won swung his sword, several gusts of slicing wind scattered across the area and clawed the floor. Each gust was an advanced combination of [Tiger Teeth] and [Tiger Claw], reminding Chang-Sun of a tiger that snatched people and livestock away from a village, taking them back to its mountain in the dark of the night. That was how a tiger earned the name ‘Hohwan’, which referred to a disaster caused by a tiger; the word ‘Mama’ referred to its ominous ghost energy[1] The director had become the embodiment of the Hohwan Mama, which had terrorized humans for a long time.

Pzzz, spark!

However, Lab Director Sang-Won was not Chang-Sun’s only problem.

“You bastard...!”

“I’ll kill you!”

“Let me help you, Lab Director!”

Pzzzz―!

After some time, the eight surviving guards pulled themselves together and unleashed their own ghost energy. As they emanated [Tiger Kill] auras infused with ghost energy, more Hohwan Mamas were created, and green wisps began to glow in their eyes.

[Perfect Marksmanship] was an Authority that enabled Chang-Sun to hit his target no matter what by reversing the order of causality. The Authority applied not only to projectiles, but also to long-range weapons such as whips. It became even more effective if Chang-Sun could lead a large number of enemies into a narrow space. That was how he had been able to instantly kill three guards, even though all he had done was change the location.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ arrogantly watches how well you use her Authority!]

Swirl, swirl, swirl!

“What on earth is happening...?!” the guards shouted, perplexed.

Chang-Sun retracted and unfurled his whip multiple times, letting it fly all over the narrow hallway. As it seemingly moved around with no pattern, the guards could not get close to Chang-Sun. Thus...

Paah―!

[The Skill ‘Windstalking Tiger’ has been activated to the fullest extent!]

While the guards hesitated, Chang-Sun flapped his wings and closed the gap quickly. Then, he struck the closest guard’s neck with the pommel of [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth].

Smack!

Crash―!

Even though the remaining guards attempted to capture him, Chang-Sun managed to retreat and unfurl his whip, leaving the guards in an absurd situation where they could neither approach or retreat. Lab Director Sang-Won could only watch in frustration.

At first it seemed as if Sang-Won and the guards could capture Chang-Sun if they pressured him a little more, but the heat of the Eon Fire and the unpredictable trajectory of his whip prevented them from doing anything. They felt as if they were the ones backed into a tight corner, not Chang-Sun.

Smash!

“Urgh...!” one of the guards groaned as he collapsed, blood bubbling up from a hole in his neck.

Soon, only one guard remained, his face pale as paper. Although the guards had outnumbered Chang-Sun, they had suffered a crushing loss, leaving the lone survivor dispirited. In his current state, it would not be strange for him to die at any moment, just like his colleagues.

‘I have to do something...!’ Lab Director Sang-Won thought, gritting his teeth.

He had used up too much time trying to capture Chang-Sun, which meant the head office had probably found out what happened by now. That meant Director Gwon would soon arrive at the lab, leaving Lab Director Sang-Won little opportunity to run away if he wasted any more time.

“Move!” Lab Director Sang-Won yelled, yanking the remaining guard by the neck and pushed forward; even though he had wanted to avoid injury as much as possible, now was not the time to worry about that.

‘I just have to reach him somehow. My level and overall stats are much higher than his, so if I can get close, I’ll be able to subdue him,’ Sang-Won thought.

Swirl, swirl, swirl!

Ting! Ting! Ting!

Lab Director Sang-Won’s splendid swordsmanship continuously deflected the strikes from Chang-Sun’s whip, which now had nine tails. Although his lab coat was torn and his defensive equipment cracked with each blow he took, the director did not care, believing he could still resolve everything if he could just get to Chang-Sun.

Soon, the director managed to close in on Chang-Sun. Despite his overwhelming power and speed, Chang-Sun seemed to be lacking stamina; he had likely used a lot of his stamina and sustained injuries from having to take on all the guards at once. By now, Chang-Sun’s dangerous whip attacks and his Eon Fire had become much weaker; in contrast, Lab Director Sang-Won had mostly managed to conserve his strength. That meant he could capture Chang-Sun by fighting him one-on-one.

Clang!

With a loud, metallic ring, Chang-Sun was pushed backward while blocking Lab Director Sang-Won’s attack using [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth]. The director reached out and tightly grabbed Chang-Sun’s collar, shoving him against a wall.

“I finally got you...!” Lab Director Sang-Won snarled with a grin, the wisps in his eyes glowing more bizarrely than ever with the desire to make Chang-Sun into a Gildal.

“Ha!” Chang-Sun spat coldly, despite the fact that he was being choked by the director. He replied, “You must have thought you could somehow subdue me if you just caught me, huh?”

“What...?!” Lab Director Sang-Won exclaimed.

However, before the director could react, Chang-Sun quickly passed [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] from his right hand to his left and poured his Magic into the seal on the back of his right hand. The seal shone brilliantly, and all the blood Chang-Sun had shed until now quickly gathered in his palm, forming a bronze longsword.

[The ‘Yuchang Sword’ has appeared!]

As Chang-Sun grabbed the weapon...

Roar!

...the [Yuchang Sword] let out a long cry.

Ooong, ooong, oooong―!

Just like the sword, [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] shook noticeably, seemingly reacting to the other weapon. The [Yuchang Sword], Ou Yezi the Divine Blacksmith’s masterpiece, had displayed its brilliant light to the world while revealing its true form; thus, [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] tried to show it was just as good, being Taotie the Devil Blacksmith’s masterpiece.

“Howl,” Chang-Sun ordered [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] as if he were reciting a magic spell, just as he had done with the [Yuchang Sword].

The body of [Tiamat’s Snaggletooth] twisted, emanating demonic energy.

[‘Double Sword Resonance’ is taking place.]

[‘Tiamat’s Snaggletooth’ has awakened!]

1. The ‘Mama’ (마마) in ‘Hohwan Mama’ is actually a term ordinary used to deify smallpox. ☜